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‘I GOT LICKS AND I TURNED OUT FINE’

If I got a dollar for every time I heard that statement I’d be a millionaire by now. And no matter how many times I hear it, the statement saddens me more with each utterance.

This week the trending debate was the “I did Common Entrance and I turned out fine.”

This is always the defence statement to any feelings that such pressure at such a young age is modern day child abuse.

I want to suggest though, that we are NOT FINE. In fact I think we have become a society numb to dysfunction.

Over the weekend I sat eating ice cream while a man shouted profanities to the top of his voice and everyone walked on by, like it was normal. To make matters worse the words spewing out of his mouth were directed to a young lady.

Our divorce rates are higher, while simultaneously our young people are opting to not be married entirely because the thought of committing to the same person for an eternity seems preposterous.

Teen pregnancies are through the roof. In fact teens having sex is through the roof. Illegal or not, abortions are on the increase. Single parent families are on the increase. Chronic health diseases are on the increase. Suicide rates on the increase. Child abuse....on the increase.

So tell me what makes us think that we turned out fine?

Is this so-called “fine” generation not the ones who raised the so-called “dysfunctional young people these days?”

Do we think that it’s just a coincidence that we raised our children with violent methods of discipline and then a generation later domestic violence, violence in schools and overall violent crimes are at unacceptable levels?

What about the “do as I say, not as I do” statement? Another coincidence that young people have no respect for the adults in society?

How can I respect you when you sweat hypocrisy? How can I look up to you when you can’t even do what you ask of me?

It is time for us to apologise to this generation. We are sorry for raising you with violence. We are sorry that we have made you numb to it as a result.

We are sorry that we had casual sex in the next room and we dated several men throughout your life. We are sorry that we sat and watched sexual videos on TV and called it culture. We are sorry that as a result of that you became numb to promiscuity and grew up with an unhealthy view of sex.

We are sorry that our mothers, in an attempt to show the world how strong we can be, forgot to allow their daughters to be treated like ladies when a gentleman opened their door.

We are sorry that our fathers stopped treating their women like royalty so our young men no longer understand the value of chivalry.

We are sorry that we forgot the basics. I guess they were so basic we took it for granted and now a generation later we see the repercussions of our actions.

We are not fine and we should have admitted it a long time ago. We cannot solve anything without first admitting to it.